The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-06-18
A SQUARE MAN.
The True Story Of a Diamond in
- the Rough.

MY friend, Thomas I. R., is a book
keeper in large manufacturing
establishment in upper New York.
Thomas is one of the ''nicest" little
men that ever seemed to have ''iust
stepped from a handbook" His char
acter is as white as his shirt front, and
his manifold virtues shining as his
polished No shoes.
Thomas is rs honest, kindly a soul as
ever drew breath or pen, and his hatred
of every species of vulgarity was doubt
less born in him at the same time with
his ''niceness."
/ called on Thomas few weeks ago.
and, greatly to my surprise, saw
moving about, with every appearance
of being perfectly at home and in en-
joyment of full confidence, and per-
forming many duties in a crab-like,
awkward bull-in-a-china-shop sort of a
way, my old, young friend, 'Stumpy,"
the youth who used to "shine" my
boots every morning when l lived in
that locality. He was well named by
whoever bestowed upon him that
title; he had stumpy legs, a stumpy
body, stumpy arms, a stumpy nose,
and the top of his head looked
as though, while still warm, it
had been carefully attended by vio-
lent pressure from stove-plate or some
like level-surface implement Thomas
7. r. shook my hand in mild rapture,
while Stumpy grinned welcome all
over the back of his head, and became,
through excitement, more crab-like
than ever in his movements.
gazed in silent establishment at this
strange but evidently satisfactory asso-
citation, and waited for time to reveal
the secret.
Time did his-dinner-time, when l
accompanied my friend to his bachelor
quarters.
What in the name of all that is
Mixed" l asked, care you doing with
that boy in your ofice?'
MY dear sir" replied Thomas T. R.
he. always commences his little
speeches as formally as he does his let
ters-"that is one of the most remark
able boys of the century. A rough
diamond, sir, l assure you; still rough,
but a very, very remarkably valuable
diamond, on my honor"
And this is the story gathered from
the rather long-spun and slightly stilted
recital of my friend:
Despite his detestation of everything
vulgar, Thomas I. r. was forced, by
sad experience, to acknowledge that
from no bootblack in his vicinity could
he obtain "shine" of the same reful-
gence and perpetuity as from Stumpy,
and though the appearance of the lad
was revolving to his nicely, and the
language of the street arab continually
shocked all his IDEAS of propriety, still
Thomas I. R. outraged his eyes and his
ears for the sake of the ''patent-ledder
shine" which seemed to come at the
call of the nimble brushes of vigorous
Stumpy, as from those of none other of
the craft, and certain degree of init
macy was established between the two
very opposite characters.
Stumpy was by no means a diffident
youth, and soon after feeling satisfied
that his contract was permanent one
as regarded the backing of Thomas T.
RS boots, he began to impress upon
the mind of the latter his (Stumpy's)
aspirations for "gittin' ahead"
I'm squar, boss, | am" he would
say, IAN yo' kin count on me effry
time. My ole nam she brung me up to
be squar', an | amt goin' back on 'er,
no how. De ole man, he amt no good,
he amt. He's dom time up'n de
island, OATS war he is, an de third er
fort er fiji time he's been der. He amt
no good. But my ole nam, she's all
dar, she is, an I'm squar', am, an
done We fergit it. An say, boss, when
yo' wants fellar roun' ter clean up
an SIGH, gi's show, won'tcher? I'm
rough lookin', but I'm squar, an
don tcher forgit it."
And then Stumpy would shoulder his
box, pocket his nickel, and swing out
in pursuit of more business.
Constant contact with the boy recon-
ciled Thomas T. r. to many peculiari-
ties, the continual harping upon the
one desire to git ahead" and his be-
ing ever within call gradually intro
duced him into the office at other times
than when he was Improving the shin
ing hour" and Thomas T. R., much to
his own surprise, found, after awhile,
that he was delegating to "Stumpy' the
busting and arranging of his own
private desk or table, which previously
had been sacred to the attentions of his
hands only. Stumpy had, by suf-
france, a corner in the Office where he
could sit and scribble when not pro-
fessionalIy engaged outside, and so
painstaking and industrious was he
that T. L. K. soon found he could en-
ploy the Few hand in directing envel-
opes, and the prompt feet in doing
much travel that he once thought could
be performed by none but his own.
And Stumpy in all cases proved the
t'squar' man. he boasted himself; one